Redefining boundaries
Evolving the 5G Open Innovation Lab
Technology changes everything, redefining industry boundaries and unforgivingly disrupting norms. Napster transformed music distribution, paving the way for streaming services like Spotify. Windows 95 became the platform of platforms underpinning the lucrative world of applications. Apple mirrored this success with its iPhone and iOS platforms years later. Netflix changed how we consumed movie content at home — first by disrupting the movie rental business and then by creating the global video streaming category.
In all these examples, there were incumbents and challengers. Technology redefined the boundaries of these industries guaranteeing that nothing is stable for too long.
Edge computing, private enterprise networks, AI, and apps can, and will, redefine the telco industry at both a product and business model level. We recognized that to truly understand the market potential, we needed to venture into uncharted waters, creating new market spaces for telcos to learn from, rather than competing in the overcrowded traditional telco landscape.
Renowned American academic, business consultant, and author Clayton Christensen once said, “Great companies can fail — not because they do anything wrong, but because they do everything right. What happens to great companies is that they don’t fail because they become arrogant or stupid. They fail because they are not able to make the transition that was required to respond to innovation.” An incumbent’s success in existing markets makes it difficult to pivot and embrace disruptive changes that technology inevitably brings. There lies the challenges within the Telco industry, any industry actually.
Introducing KhasmX
Despite the early hype surrounding the potential for 5G, CAPEX spending by telcos has experienced a notable decline. It’s safe to say that the expected returns haven’t materialized sufficiently to justify ongoing investments. Understandably, telcos are cautious about investing in new markets without assured success. “Fool me once, shame on you…” right?
We believe it’s crucial to keep pushing forward because edge computing, private cellular networks, AI, and apps hold undeniable potential. What’s needed is a clear understanding of the telco’s role in these emerging opportunities. That’s why we are launching KhasmX, our skunkworks lab. It’s a dedicated business unit for experimenting with new platforms, business models, and, ultimately, identifying the telco’s blue ocean opportunity.
Through KhasmX we’ve been developing two product initiatives. One focuses on developing an enterprise edge computing and private cellular platform, the other is experimenting with AI compute operating within a Telco’s network serving the future needs of AI in mobile apps. These initiatives are meant to explore and market validate the immense potential of these technologies and their propensity to reshape the Telco industry.
Khasm Enterprise Edge Network (KEEN)
Enterprise private cellular networking is going mainstream, no doubt about it. As we dug into the market it became obvious that beyond connectivity enterprises were seeking the ability to run apps on the edge and to access apps that transformed their business operations. These networks needed to become extensions of their IT operations, not be islands on their own. And, in some cases, they needed to be on-premises to avoid disruptions due to breaks in getting to, and from, the cloud. KEEN started off as an idea of building a fully functioning standalone (SA) 5G network and edge computing in a box that was cost optimized. I asked our CTO Scott Waller if it was possible and six months later, he emerged with a functioning platform. He’s a wizard.
The KEEN platform is simple to operate and serves two primary use cases: ad hoc remote connectivity and low-cost enterprise starter networks. The entire platform is cloud native by design meaning it can scale from one access point to hundreds easily. It’s built using products from Druid Software, Airspan Networks, and FibroLAN. We’ve differentiated the platform by working with 5G Open Innovation Lab partners such as Dell, VMware, Intel, Accenture, Avanade, and Palo Alto Networks to ensure that their clients can leverage the value of their products on KEEN. Furthermore, we dove deep into our rich ecosystem of alumni to implement their products such as Zededa for edge computing, Graphiant for cloud scale networking, Neutroon for private network orchestration, and Shabodi for application enablement. KEEN is a platform that ties into an enterprise’s existing IT system and scalable to onboard new capabilities (AI on the edge, etc.) and apps.
We have deployed KEEN’s architecture in a variety of production environments such as our Tacoma Blue Edge Network (TBEN) and recently for a new private network built at Washington United Terminals. Today’s 5G networks require clocking/timing, GNSS, and tight integration of the mobile core and RAN components for smooth operations. We took that and said rather than build a dedicated platform for a network, let’s build a platform that can run the network AND apps. With over 127 alumni in our portfolio with a combined $2.3 billion in venture capital backing them the possibilities of the platform are truly endless.
KTEN (Khasm Tactical Edge Network) is the sister product designed to support the needs of defense and public sector clients operating in challenging environments. KTEN won the top award of NSIN’s Catastrophic Communications Challenge because it demonstrated its ability to broadcast a functioning private 5G SA network in less than 17 minutes in addition to providing access to applications and the ability to provide local WiFi support. Backhaul was made possible through Starlink. In the event of a catastrophic event (earthquakes and other natural disasters) communications for frontline responders is critical. That said, affordability, ease of use, and rapid deployment are equally important to facilitating communications on the front line of a disaster response.
Why invest in building, and selling, KEEN to enterprises? Enterprises are solving several challenges; connectivity happens to be a tipping point. Connectivity aside, we are most interested in using the platform to experiment with business model innovations, specifically in reselling apps & solutions validated on KEEN & KTEN to enterprise clients. Success would increase Telcos share of wallet beyond connectivity and inch them closer to becoming a platform (edge, connectivity, AI, and apps). KEEN is about experimenting with business model innovation to share with 5G OI Lab partners.
Telco AI Cloud
AI is transforming how we work and live, how businesses operate, and how developers build applications among other opportunities. Like with edge computing and private networks it’s becoming clear that AI is being pushed further out to users as evidenced by announcements from Microsoft, Lenovo, and other device OEMs embedding NPUs into their products. It’s undeniable that there is a growing trend towards integrating NPUs into consumer and enterprise devices, reflecting the increasing importance of AI in enhancing computing capabilities across various use cases.
If you agree that AI capabilities will become mainstream in mobile applications, then it’s reasonable to assume that a tremendous amount of AI data will be both created and require access to models and compute. Based on these assumptions we developed the following framework to explore the pros and cons of Telco AI Cloud as it would relate to an increase in NPU capabilities on devices and existing hyperscale cloud AI services.
Conclusion: Embracing the Future with KhasmX
Our journey through the 5G Open Innovation Lab, and now through KhasmX, is about fostering collaboration, driving innovation, and continuously pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. KhasmX embodies our commitment to exploring these uncharted waters, driving forward with initiatives like the KEEN and Telco AI. KhasmX is also working directly with enterprises trialing and implementing innovative alumni products. Check out our launch video!
Innovation is a messy process as it should be. Iterating, failing, learning, and trying again is what has made great products great and led to unquestionable disruptions to industries. Remember, making all the right decisions isn’t an assurance of success in the future. Experimenting and being comfortable with disrupting yourself puts you closer to a successful future. In today’s fast-paced technology landscape, the mantra is clear: disrupt or be disrupted. This philosophy drives our work at KhasmX.
